The Adventures of Cloudclan 005
by SkyWaterfire02
Summary: After a border patrol that takes an unexpected turn, the clan now faces it's newest rival: another clan! But can they coexist? And is this new group really clan-worthy material? Or are they just a bunch of foolish rouges?
1. Chapter 1

The Adventures of Cloudclan 005

In the heart of a deep, deep forest, there lives a great clan of cats. These cats are noble, fearless, and loyal. They will fight to the death to defend their clan. And in times of trouble, they call upon Starclan, the clan of great cat spirits, to help them. This is Cloudclan.

"Hurry up Lotuspaw!"

Rosepetal called back to the light-golden apprentice. Lotuspaw's blue eyes flashed up from the flower she'd been side-tracked by. She ran to catch up to Ivyblaze and Rosepetal.

"Lotuspaw, this is a border patrol," Ivyblaze chided. "You can't get distracted. We need to stay focused."

"Sorry Ivyblaze," Lotuspaw said. The patrol passed a pond covered in green algae. Rosepetal led the three cats along the bank of the big lake in their territory, over the rocks. Lotuspaw, trying not to fall of the slippery rocks, scrambled to Ivyblaze's side. The sun flickered over the calm waves as they softly lapped against the rocks. Without notice, Rosepetal held her tail up and stopped the patrol.

"Rosepetal, what's wrong?" Lotuspaw asked. Rosepetal was lapping at the air and sniffing intently.

"I smell something," she spoke. "Follow me. Stay low, and keep quiet." Rosepetal led them away from the lake and towards the woods. The deeper they went, the stronger the scent was. Lotuspaw nervously glanced at Ivyblaze. Ivyblaze looked around as they walked. Suddenly she stiffened.

"Look!" she cried, running over to a tree stump. Resting on the stump was the body of a dead squirrel, with bite marks.

"Something's been hunting on our territory!" Lotuspaw cried.

"What? A fox?" Rosepetal asked, padding over. Ivyblaze sniffed.

"Doesn't smell like a fox," she commented. "In fact, it doesn't smell like any scent I know."

"It smells like cat!" Lotuspaw said suddenly. Ivyblaze looked at her, surprised, and then sniffed the squirrel corpse again.

"Why yes, you're right! It was a cat that hunted this! Good work, Lotuspaw!" Ivyblaze praised her. "I'll be sure to tell your mentor Snowfang about this!"

"It wasn't just one cat," Rosepetal interrupted. "Multiple cats were here."

"They left a scent trail!" Ivyblaze pointed out. "It's fresh! They were just here! And it leads that way!" She flicked her tail in the direction of a marsh.

"Are we going to follow it?" Lotuspaw asked nervously.

"Yes. If we move quickly enough, we might be able to catch up to them. Let's move," Rosepetal instructed. She led the patrol across the marsh. Lotuspaw was struggling to catch up, pulling her paws out from the mud that was sucking her paws in. Her legs were all muddy when they reached the other side of the marsh.

"Great. I can't wait to lick all this off," she grumbled.

It wasn't long before the patrol reached an opening in the woods, and Rosepetal spotted four cats.

"Get in that bush," she hissed. "Now!" The three cats jumped in a nearby bush and watched the cats.

"That was a good squirrel you caught there," said one of the cats.

"Why didn't you eat all of it?" another cat asked.

"Well, I wasn't very hungry. Besides, we don't have much time here. We should be getting back to the others," a third cat said.

"Prey-waster!" Rosepetal hissed

"Are we going to confront them?" Lotuspaw asked Rosepetal.

"No. We're right at our border, and they're off our territory."

"But they were stealing our prey!" Ivyblaze argued. "We have every right to go out there and rip them to shreds!"

"They outnumber us," Rosepetal pointed out. "There are four of them and only three of us, and we don't know how good they are at fighting. It's not worth it."

"But we have to-!" Ivyblaze was cut off by Rosepetal.

"A smart warrior only gets in a battle when she's sure she has a chance of winning. Come on, let's go back to report."

The day was a bright sunny day. Newleaf was finally arriving, and Snowfang, Shadowpaw, and Goldenpaw were cleaning out what was rest of the snow. Since it was early dawn, some were still asleep. Moonshine was chatting quietly with Silverstar when the patrol arrived quickly in camp.

"Silverstar! Silverstar!" Lotuspaw cried.

"Hush!" Moonshine hissed. "There are still cats sleeping."

"So? How did the patrol go?" Silverstar asked. Lotuspaw's blue eyes flashed nervously. Rosepetal was about to answer when Blackthorn, a new warrior, came out.

"Honestly! Can't a warrior get any sleep around here? What's up with all this noise?!"

"Blackthorn, the patrol needs to give their report," Silverstar said. Rosepetal cleared her throat.

"Well, we came across a squirrel with cat scent on it," she said. "Multiple cats." Silverstar froze.

"Did you follow the scent?" she asked.

"Yes. We found four cats right off our territory. They had been stealing prey," Rosepetal said.

"Did you attack?" Silverstar was now standing up, looking concerned.

"No. We figured it wasn't worth the risk," admitted Rosepetal.

"What? You should have clawed their eyes out!" Vixenstep snarled.

"Enough, Vixenstep. They made the right decision," said Silverstar. "But we'll have to follow these cats to confront them about this." Ivyblaze glanced nervously at Rosepetal.

"Umm, I'm not sure that's such a good idea," she stammered.

"And why is that?" Silverstar flicked her ears. Lotuspaw lapped her light golden fur and looked at Ivyblaze.

"Because-" Rosepetal began, "Because the cats said something about 'getting back to the others'."

"What does that mean?" Silverstar asked.

"I think-" The cats waited for Rosepetal's answer. "I think that there's another clan in the forest."


	2. Chapter 2

Silence filled the camp. By now every cat was awake and under the Highrock, shocked at Rosepetal's statement. Then suddenly, all the cats began yelling in fear and confusion. Blackthorn tried to get closer to the Highrock.

"Move! I need to hear! This is important!" she snapped. All the cats were speculating what this new clan could mean, when Silverstar broke up the chaos.

"Silence!" she ordered. Then she turned to Rosepetal. "How can you be sure?"

"Well," Rosepetal began. "Obviously they have some kind of group, even if it isn't really a clan."

"I think it's best that we confront them, just so they know we're here and to go over the rules before any more of this happens," Snowfang suggested.

"Yes, that's a good idea," Silverstar stated, deep in thought. "I'll organize a patrol to follow the scent trail."

"But we don't know anything about these cats! They could be really dangerous," Lotuspaw whimpered, trembling in fear.

"Yes, so I will only send the most elite cats to go," Silverstar said.

"Can I go?" pleaded Gingerpaw?

"No. Absolutely not. No apprentices," Silverstar said firmly. Gingerpaw sulked, while the other apprentices sighed in relief. "I will lead the patrol to represent us. Moonshine, you'll come too, as you can negotiate with them. Ivyblaze, Rosepetal, and Vixenstep, you'll come for reinforcements."

"Five cats? That's it? Why can't I go?" snapped Blackthorn.

"Blackthorn, I'll leave you in charge of camp while we're gone," Silverstar replied.

"Yes!" Blackthorn grinned. "Alright you apprentices, line up! Start cleaning out all the dens-"

"Blackthorn, we're not leaving yet," Rosepetal interrupted. "I believe it's noon, so we'll leave at sundown to follow the trail."

"We'll go make some poultices," Cloverpelt said. "You know, just in case."

As the sun began to drop and it began to get closer and closer to sundown, the cats began to feel more anxious. The four apprentices were lying down, chatting.

"I don't know what the big deal is," Gingerpaw remarked. "It's just some group of cats!"

"But we don't know these cats," Shadowpaw pointed out. "We have no idea what they're capable of."

"And who knows how long they'll be gone," whimpered Goldenpaw. "How is Blackthorn supposed to lead? She's new, and both our leader and deputy will be gone!"

"I'm sure Blackthorn will do a fine job in charge," a voice spoke behind them. The four turned to see Rosepetal. "I know she's new, but she's very strong-hearted. Respect her, and do as she says. We won't be gone for long. A few days at most."

"Rosepetal, it's time," Silverstar said. And so the patrol of Silverstar, Rosepetal, Moonshine, Ivyblaze, and Vixenstep organized themselves into a line, and gathered the few herbs they would bring.

"Be careful!" Skyclaw called as the five began to march off into the forest.

"Don't worry! Just take care of the camp!" Vixenstep called before disappearing behind a bush. The eight cats left behind watched the bush for a few moments, even though the cats had already left. Then Blackthorn turned on the apprentices.

"Alright, you four! It's time to stop sitting around and make yourselves useful! Start changing the moss in the dens!" The apprentices moaned. "No complaining! Get moving! And work double time!"

As the sky began turning a dark blue, the patrol moved silently but quickly through the woods. Several birds were still in the trees, chirping into the night sky. Silverstar was using her nose to locate the scent trail the four mysterious cats had left behind. Although it wasn't as fresh as it had been in the morning, the scent was still there. The five cats arrived at the spot where Rosepetal and Ivyblaze had been in the morning.

"You sure this was the spot?" questioned Silverstar

"This was definitely it," confirmed Rosepetal.

"Then let's keep following the trail." Silverstar led the cats off their border and continued to follow the trail. Moonshine got an odd feeling wandering off into the unknown, as if she were invading another cat's territory.

"We'll need to be careful," she said. "We're not in the safety of our camp anymore, and we need to make sure we don't step on another cat's land."

"Of course," agreed Silverstar. "Now- wait a minute- I'm picking up the scent of other cats!"

"They blend together," mentioned Ivyblaze. "They must have had a few other cats join them."

"I don't think we're dealing with any small group of cats," said Moonshine. "So we'll need to-"

"Shhh!" hissed Silverstar. "I hear voices!" And indeed, there were cheers of laughter and the sounds of loud, happy conversations resonating in the woods.

"Wow! They're closer to our territory than I thought!" Vixenstep whispered, faintly surprised.

"That's not good," said Silverstar, worried. "It means we'll be having more unwanted contact with them."

The five cats crept forward, being careful where they placed their paws so they wouldn't make any noise. As they got closer, Silverstar saw some strange light source glowing through the bushes. Wondering if it could possibly be a fire, the patrol nervously inched forward, peering into the bushes. They were able to see many figures and their shadows showing on the forest floor.

"Great Starclan! There are tons of them!" gasped Rosepetal. "We have- what- thirteen cats in our clan? These guys have one… two… three… who knows how many? We'd probably be outnumbered three to one! We'd never win a battle against them!"

"Then let's try to avoid a battle," commented Moonshine. Looking closely, Silverstar was able to observe the light source. What appeared to be a flame was enclosed in some weird twoleg thing, and all the cats were seated around it. How they managed to get their paws on it Silverstar couldn't guess, but that wasn't important.

"How are we going to introduce ourselves?" asked Ivyblaze.

"Let's just go out and say hello," suggested Vixenstep.

"Yeah, no. That's not a good idea," retorted Rosepetal.

"Why don't we just watch them for a bit, just to see how hostile they are? Then we can choose our means of introduction," Moonshine pointed out. Silverstar, observing her surroundings, spotted a pine tree good for climbing.

"Follow my lead," she hissed. She went up and dug her claws into the soft bark of the tree. The others followed, brushing pine needles out of their faces as they went up. The higher they went, the better they were able to see the group. When they reached a good spot, the five settled down on one large branch of the tree.

"Ugh, all this pine sap is sticking to my fur," complained Rosepetal. "I hate pine sap!"

They observed as the cats in the group talked about this and that, petty little topics that were of no concern to Silverstar. Quickly losing interest, the cats decided that they weren't dangerous. They were just about to decide how they would reveal themselves, when a brown tom with blue eyes stood up and cheered something to the crowd.

"Is he their leader?" Moonshine wondered.

"Must be," replied Rosepetal. The tom didn't look as fit as the skilled warriors in Cloudclan. In fact, none of the cats looked like skilled warriors. The brown leader cat then made a joke about how he'd convinced a cat that pieces of deer dung were really delicious berries. The five didn't think this was particularly funny, just shallow humor, but the group seemed to think this was hilarious and burst into laughter.

"Nice one, Starfire!" they called.

"Good grief. They're no better than kits!" Moonshine scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Starfire? Is that his name? I want to get a better look at the leader cat!" Vixenstep said, trying to climb further out on the branch.

"Hey! Let me see!" Ivyblaze said, joining her.

"Don't do that!" Moonshine hissed. "You'll put your weight on the weaker part of the branch and-"

Moonshine's warning came too late. A loud _crack _was heard, and the branch fell down the tree, taking the five with it. When it hit the ground, the five cats tumbled out into the opening where the group of cats was.


	3. Chapter 3

Silverstar growled in pain. She'd landed on her paws of course, but she'd fallen so far that the impact sent pain shooting up her legs. She looked up and felt her fur stand on end. Countless pairs of gleaming eyes were staring, shocked at their intruders. Silverstar gulped. This was _not_ how she'd wanted to make a first impression. As the other cats recollected themselves, they too realized what they'd done. Starfire got up, walked over to Silverstar, and raised his paw. Silverstar flinched, expecting him to strike her. But instead, he put his paw on her shoulder.

"Hey there! That was quite an entrance you made!" he cheered. Snickers could be heard from the other cats. Silverstar glared at her fellow clanmates to stand up and get into position.

"Hello, let us introduce ourselves," Silverstar stuttered, still shaken from the fall. "This is Ivyblaze and Vixenstep. They are our warriors. Rosepetal is the deputy, and Moonshine is our medicine cat. I am Silverstar, the leader." Moonshine, who was the negotiator, spoke up.

"We have come to explain the rules of our clan, Cloudclan. And we hope your clan can make peace with ours."

The group of cats stared at them with blank faces. Then they burst out laughing. Moonshine nervously glanced at Silverstar. "Did I… do something wrong?"

"You are a clan, right?" Vixenstep asked.

"Well… yeah, I guess we are now. It sounds cool!" Starfire said.

"Oh! Well, this morning your cats were on our territory stealing prey," Rosepetal said.

"Oh. That was your territory?" A small, white she-cat spoke up. "We didn't know."

"How could you not know?!" Rosepetal snapped. "Our scent was very clear!"

"Rosepetal, relax. I'm sure it won't happen again." Moonshine assured. "But if you are a clan, you will need to know the rules."

"Rules?" Starfire asked.

"Yes," said Silverstar. "The rules of the warrior code."

"You must defend your clan, even with your life. You may have friendships with cats from other clans such as ours, but your loyalty must remain to your own clan," Silverstar recited. Then, clearing her throat, she went on. "You may not hunt or trespass on another clan's territory without permission of that clan." This was delivered with a glare at the white she-cat. "Any elders or kits you have must be fed before apprentices or warriors. Prey is killed only to be eaten. Give thanks to Starclan for its life. Your kits must be at least six moons old before they can become apprentices. All newly appointed warriors will keep a silent vigil the night after receiving their name. A cat cannot be made a deputy without mentoring at least one apprentice. Your deputy will become leader when your leader dies or retires. If the deputy dies or retires, the new deputy must be chosen before moonhigh. Every full moon we will hold a gathering with a truce. During this gathering, there is to be no fighting. Your boundaries must be checked and marked daily. Trespassers must be challenged. None of you may neglect a kit in pain or danger, even if they are not from your clan. You must obey the word of your leader. You may not kill another cat in battle unless in a dire circumstance. And finally, you must reject the soft life of a kittypet." Silverstar loved reciting the warrior code. She memorized each word well. But when she looked up at her audience, the cats were all staring up at her, clueless.

"Ummm… yeah we don't follow," Starfire said. Vixenstep groaned and slapped a paw over her face.

"Look, just be loyal, do your part, and try to have honor. There, that easy enough for you?" Rosepetal growled. The cats nodded.

"But there's more to the code than that!" Ivyblaze hissed.

"Well, we don't have time to explain it all," Moonshine replied. The other cats, who still knew next to nothing about being a clan, were now talking and laughing about this strange new sensation of being a "clan".

"Our new clan name will be 'Starfireclan'!" Starfire exclaimed.

"Let them figure it out for themselves," Moonshine said. And with that, she began walking away.

"Hey, Silverstar! Can I give my cats new names now?" Starfire called as the five began to leave.

"Uhh, sure," Silverstar called back. As the patrol walked, they could hear Starfire chanting.

"My name will be Starfirestar! And Fish, I now name you Fishyfish!" This was followed by bellows of laughter. "Oh, and Stick! Your new name is Stickypaws! And Pickles, you are: Picklebelly!" The cats of "Starfireclan" burst into hysterical shrieks of laughter.

"Bizarre," muttered Ivyblaze. And on they walked all the more anxious to return home.

A few days has passed since the ordeal with "Starfireclan", and the cats hadn't seen them since. The apprentices had bombarded the cats with questions.

"What were they like?" Lotuspaw had asked.

"They were… strange," Ivyblaze answered.

"Yeah, and pretty immature," Rosepetal added. "They also had some light source in some bizarre twoleg thing."

"Oh! I know what that is!" Cloverpelt said. "Back when I was a kittypet, my twolegs would use it for light sometimes. They called it a 'lantern'."

"But how in Starclan's name did they get it?" Shadowpaw asked.

"Are they kittypets?" Skyclaw wondered.

"Maybe former kittypets, but it seemed like they lived in the wild," Moonshine stated.

"And their leader was named 'Starfirestar'," Silverstar added. "Come to think of it, it's been a few days since we've seen those cats. Did they really decide to follow the rules? I thought they weren't listening to a word I said."

"Maybe they just left," Gingerpaw suggested, eating a fish. "Maybe we can just forget about them!"

"Maybe…" Silverstar said. But she still wasn't sure. And Silverstar was right to keep her suspicions about her. In the few days after that, numerous border patrols had noticed tufts of cat fur on the border and sometimes even further. When looking for herbs, Moonshine and Cloverpelt had sworn they'd seen some cats playing in their marigold patch. But the worst incident happened when Snowfang, Gingerpaw, and Rosepetal went on patrol. Rosepetal had led them to the border, following a stream.

"Maybe later I should send a patrol to hunt for fish here," Rosepetal speculated. "There's plenty this Greenleaf."

"Cloud I come?" Gingerpaw asked.

"Maybe," Rosepetal answered. "But you really should be practicing your skills for your test tomorrow."

"Hey!"

The cats turned their heads to see five cats splashing in the stream.

"Oh, not again!" Rosepetal snarled. The patrol stomped towards the cats.

"Hey! I'm Picklebelly, and-" Picklebelly was cut off by the other four snorting in laughter at his name. A white and gray she-cat stood up.

"I'm Lightflower. I asked for a pretty name," she said.

"I'm Birdbrain," a black tom called.

"I'm Dustynose," called a tan tom.

"And I'm Cherryberry," a reddish-orange she-cat with yellow eyes proudly exclaimed.

"Okay look, I don't care what your names are. What do you think you're doing in our stream?" Rosepetal snapped.

"Uhh, swimming. Duh!" called Cherryberry.

"Well, I hope you realize not only are you on our territory, you're also scaring away all our fish!" Snowfang hissed. "That was going to be our supper!"

"Ew. Why would you want to eat fish? They're slimy and gross," Birdbrain said.

"Wow, you really do live up to your name, don't you Birdbrain?" Gingerpaw spat. "Maybe if you didn't live such spoiled lives, you'd know that resources like that are important and you'd-"

"Gingerpaw, that's enough," Rosepetal pushed Gingerpaw back with her tail. "My apprentice does, however, make a good point. Once you start living a harsh life, you'll learn to have honor and respect our borders." Picklebelly thought about this, then jumped onto the Cloudclan border and stomped on the grass.

"Look everyone! I'm _respecting _your borders!"

"Get off our land! I'm warning you!" Rosepetal hissed.

"Hey Picklebelly, you should take a dump on their land!" Dustynose called. "That's _respectful_!" The five cats howled in laughter.

"You idiots!" Snowfang spat. She swung at Dustynose, and he backed away. Lightflower put a paw over the border.

"Look! I'm on your land!" she stepped off. "Now I'm not!"

"Don't start that," Snowfang warned. All the other cats continued mocking them, stepping on and off their border. Gingerpaw furiously swung her paws at them.

"Hey, you can't attack us," Dustynose said, stepping off the border. "We're not on your territory anymore."

"I'll attack you if I want!" Gingerpaw said. She reached forward and raked her claws along the side of Dustynose's face.

"Ow!" he cried. "Okay fine, we're going! Sheesh!" And with that they left, muttering to themselves and throwing glances back at them. Rosepetal waited until they were gone, then turned to Gingerpaw.

"Gingerpaw! You shouldn't have attacked until I gave the order to do so!"

"What? It solved the problem, didn't it?" she retorted. Rosepetal sighed.

"We'll discuss this back at camp. Snowfang, you keep checking the border and make sure they don't come back." Snowfang nodded, and Rosepetal and Gingerpaw went back to report their incident.

A few more days passed. The apprentices were given their test, and had all done well. Starfireclan continued to be a problem, as they were now setting records as to who could go the farthest into Cloudclan territory until they were chased off. It got so bad that eventually a meeting was held among the Cloudclan cats.

"All we ask of them is just to follow a few simple rules," Vixenstep was saying. "Is it really that hard to do?"

"They just treat clan life like it's some kind of joke," Skyclaw replied. Silverstar leapt onto the Highrock. The cats stopped their chatter, and Silverstar began her speech.

"Cats of Cloudclan! We are gathered for an emergency meeting. It has come to my attention that Starfireclan has not been cooperative lately."

"That doesn't even begin to cover it," muttered Blackthorn.

"We must find a way to help them understand the importance of conforming to the rules," Silverstar continued.

"Why don't we just march onto their territory, tell them the rules, and if they don't cooperate, we tear them limb from limb. That should help them _understand_," Gingerpaw snarled.

"Gingerpaw!" Rosepetal barked.

"We must find a _peaceful _way to get them to comply," Silverstar said with a glare at Gingerpaw.

"I have an idea," Moonshine was saying to Rosepetal. "The gathering is in four days. Why don't we arrange for Starfireclan to come?"

"No, no, that would never work," Rosepetal replied. She quieted down for a moment, and then perked up. "Wait! I have an idea!"

"Really?" Moonshine said, feigning surprise. "Does it involve the gathering?"

"I say we invite Starfireclan to the next Gathering," Rosepetal announced.

"Well, what a surprise!" Moonshine growled.

"A gathering between us two clans where we can discuss things. Yes, that's brilliant!" Silverstar cheered. "Good thinking, Rosepetal!"

"But that was my- oh never mind!" Moonshine huffed and stormed into her den.

"I still think my idea was better," Gingerpaw whispered to Goldenpaw.


	4. Chapter 4

The whole of Cloudclan formed a line and marched off to Starfireclan territory. As they reached the rarely respected border, Silverstar ordered for the patrol to stop.

"What do we do now?" Goldenpaw asked.

"We wait," Silverstar replied. "We'll wait for a patrol to come and lead us in."

So they waited. And they waited. They waited ever so patiently for a Starfireclan patrol to show up. "They've got to send a patrol eventually. Any minute now," Silverstar said. "I mean, surely they wouldn't just leave their territory unprotected like this. And it was in the Warrior Code-"

"Oh, really? And since when has Starfireclan _ever _followed the Warrior Code?" Rosepetal snapped. "We're wasting time. This patrol isn't coming." It was true, Silverstar had kept them waiting there the entire afternoon.

"All right then, looks like we're going to have to break the rules. We're going over there ourselves!" Silverstar ordered.

"You mean- without permission? But what if they get mad and attack us?" A trembling Goldenpaw asked.

"Relax, Goldenpaw. Once you've seen these cats and their camp, you won't be scared of them at all," Ivyblaze assured.

"But won't Starclan be angry with us?" Goldenpaw persisted.

"Oh please," Ivyblaze scoffed. "I'm sure they'll understand. Besides, who do you think Starclan will trust more? Us? Or a bunch of lunatics we found on our land? And anyways, sometimes you have to break the rules to do the right thing."

"First you tell me that I should always follow the rules, then you tell me I can break them! Why does everything have to be so confusing?" Goldenpaw ranted as the patrol crossed the border. As the cats got closer to Starfireclan camp, no sign of any cats could be found.

"Maybe they're all having some kind of meeting," Cloverpelt suggested. But that was not the case. Instead, all their cats were simply lounging around and chatting.

"Well, well, well," a reddish-brown tom spoke up. "It's so good to see some honest, non-hypocritical cats after all of us horrible, nasty kitties."

"Burntface is right," spoke up Lightflower, her voice tainted with sarcasm. "Have the regal cats of all goodness come to lecture us some more?"

"What in Starclan's name are you talking about?" Snowfang growled. Starfirestar leapt down from the rock he'd been lying on.

"You cats come to us, tell us what to do, and get mad when we go on our territory, but you can go on our land whenever you feel like it? That doesn't seem very fair, now does it?"

"This is different," Silverstar insisted.

"Oh, I'm _sure _it is," Starfirestar replied. Silverstar swallowed a flash of irritation.

"We weren't going to intrude like this, but you never sent a patrol to take us in," Silverstar explained, using every ounce of patience she had left.

"Oh, so now we're supposed to send patrols out?" Dustynose scoffed.

"Yes! Yes you are!" Blackthorn spat. "Hunting and border patrols!" It was in the Warrior Code!"

"Oh, that _code _thing? Yeah, we didn't really get that. I think I fell asleep like- halfway through it." Cherryberry's remark was followed by a few chortles of laughter. An enraged Silverstar was about to make a cutting remark back. Moonshine, sensing the danger, quickly stepped in.

"Anyway, the reason we came was to invite you to the Gathering," she said. At the mention of this "Gathering", all the cats suddenly quieted down, and looked quite interested.

"What's a Gathering?" Burntface asked.

"Well, it's a time where all the clans come together to discuss happenings in their clan. It's in four days, as it's every full moon. As you _should,_ but probably don't know, there is no fighting there. We'll all discuss things there, and talk with one another," Moonshine explained.

"Ooooh, so it's like a party?" Starfirestar asked.

"Well, I- guess you could say that," Skyclaw said. All the cats seemed very excited.

"Where will it be?" Fishyfish asked. Silverstar froze.

"Oh, we- we haven't set aside someplace to meet yet!"

"That's okay, until then we can hold it in our camp," Starfirestar offered.

"Alright then, we'll be here in four days at Moonhigh," Silverstar announced. "Cloudclan, we'd better get going."

"We'll be waiting," Starfirestar called as they left.

The night had come. Vixenstep and Skyclaw were left with Gingerpaw, Lotuspaw, and Goldenpaw to watch camp. The rest all groomed their fur in preparation.

Alright everyone, tonight's the night," SIlvertsar rallied. "Tonight we'll get Starfireclan to finally understand our ways, and then we'll finally be at peace." As they said their goodbyes and heard the last of Gingerpaw's complaints about wanting to come to the Gathering as well, the clan was on their way. Moonshine looked up at the full moon through the trees. It was shining bright with a silvery glow. Moonshine grinned. She had a good feeling about tonight.

As the clan arrived at the Starfireclan camp, they quickly noticed that no one was there.

"Where'd they go?" Shadowpaw wondered.

"They must have forgotten," Silverstar gulped.

"Well, of course they forgot! They-"

Blackthorn's hiss was cut short. Instantly, all of the expected Starfireclan cats jumped out.

"SURPRISE!" They all shouted. Silverstar jumped up, then relaxed, relieved. The Starfireclan cats brought out some more of the "lanterns" Cloverpelt had been talking about, bringing light to the camp. Starfirestar joined Silverstar.

"Were you surprised? Were you? Were you? Were you?" he babbled.

"Yes, very," Silverstar said, still shaken.

"Oh! And if you look, you'll see we put decorations up in the tree branches. And yes, we did do it all by ourselves," he boasted. It was only then that Silverstar noticed the brightly-colored streaks in the trees.

"What- what is that?" she questioned.

"That's confetti and streamers," Starfirestar replied. "Twolegs use them as decorations. One Twoleg had their own party, and we found them in their piles."

"Piles?" Silverstar echoed.

"Yeah, they keep some of their stuff in these bins outside their homes for whatever reason. We go though them and bring anything useful back to our camp."

Looking around, Silverstar noticed that indeed, most of the clan's supplies were weird-looking things she'd never seen before. Odd bits of fluff for nests, unusually shaped pieces of meat for fresh-kill, and just some random things lying around whose purpose Silverstar couldn't think of. She'd have to bring it up to them that they would have to stop raiding Twoleg territory to get all this.

As in a conventional Gathering, all the cats were socializing. The leaders were supposed to watch on a Highrock. But since there was no suitable rock, Silverstar instead selected a branch high above the crowd to go.

"We should probably go sit on that branch, us being the leaders and all," she said. Starfirestar nodded, and the two sat on the leader's branch. Silverstar watched over the cats. Moonshine and Ivyblaze were making a poor attempt at conversation with the other cats, Cloverpelt, Snowfang, and Rosepetal were watching some cats perform great leaps and flips, Blackthorn and Shadowpaw were hissing at a cat who'd apparently made fun of their smell, and all the while everyone was making a tremendous amount of noise. Silverstar silently prayed that a pack of foxes, or badgers, or Twolegs wouldn't find them.

"… Jaggedtail, and then of course, there's me, Starfirestar. So that's everyone in my clan. What about yours?"

"Hmm?" Silverstar jerked her head, realizing the Starfirestar clan leader had been talking to her.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't hear, I was just looking around."

"That's okay. So anyway, what exactly did our clans need to talk about?"

"Actually, I need the attention of all the cats first," Silverstar said. Then she called out. "Quiet down, all cats! Let's begin the Gathering!"

"Quiet down? But this is a party!" a black Starfireclan tom whined.

"You have had your time to talk," Silverstar declared. "Now we must begin. Cloudclan will start. We have noticed that Starfireclan may need some clarification of the rules."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought this was a party, not an intervention," one cat jeered.

"It is a _Gathering,_" Silverstar insisted. "And you must know the rules! First off, borders. You can't just cross into our boundaries as you please. If you want to go into our territory, you have to wait at our border for a patrol to come. And speaking of patrols, why haven't you set up a system yet? You're supposed to send out border patrols to manage your borders, and hunting patrols to catch food!"

"Border _and _hunting patrols? We don't have time for that," Lightflower complained. "We have more important things to be doing."

"Like what? Lounging around in your dens and telling jokes?" Snowfang snapped.

"Exactly," a ginger tom replied.

"Is _everything _a joke to you? You can't just do that! In a clan, you have to work to survive!" Rosepetal flared.

"That sounds boring," grumbled Birdbrain.

"Well, you decided to become a clan! You have to adapt!" Ivyblaze argued. "I bet your leader hasn't even received his nine lives from Starclan!"

"Who's Starclan?"

"What?" Silverstar looked up.

"Who's Starclan? Are they like some other clan we haven't run into yet?" Starfirestar asked.

"No, no, no! Starclan is the reason why the clans exist! They are the spirits of our ancestors. When a brave warrior dies, their spirit goes to Starclan, where they continue to guide and serve their clan."

The Starfireclan cats couldn't contain their laughter.

"And you say we're crazy!" One cat howled. Silverstar was appalled.

"No! It's true! And Starclan is supposed to give you your nine lives so you can lead your clan!"

"Nine lives? That's just some old cat's tale!" Starfirestar scoffed. "What, do _you _have nine lives?"

"Yes, and Starclan gave them to me when I became leader," Silverstar declared.

"This is too rich!" Fishyfish laughed.

"Hasn't your medicine cat talked to Starclan?" Rosepetal asked.

"No," Starfirestar scoffed.

"Who _is _your medicine cat?" Moonshine broke in.

"Picklebelly," Starfirestar replied. Cloverpelt took one look at Picklebelly and scoffed. "Does he even have any experience?"

"Nope!" Picklebelly hollered.

"Then what do you do if a cat gets sick?" Shadowpaw gasped.

"I just lead them to a Twoleg's den. He's the Cutter. He fixes any cat's ailment. The cat stays there for a few days, and then comes back," Picklebelly replied.

"You can't do that!" Rosepetal retorted. "You have to heal the cats with herbs!"

"Herbs? Those bitter things?" Cherryberry said, disgusted.

"YES!" Ivyblaze barked. "And what about your deputy?"

"Deputy?" Starfirestar asked. Silverstar looked ready to explode.

"Yes! Your deputy! You're supposed to have a deputy to be next in line for leader! The one who organizes patrols!" she shouted.

"Oh right, a deputy," Starfirestar remembered. "I haven't really decided yet. Well, I guess Hollystem can be deputy. She seems to want it the most." Silverstar's ears fell flat.

"Holly- what?"

And right there, stepping up from the crowd, was Cloudclan's old enemy returned: Hollystem.


End file.
